


I don’t actually have a title, so this is the title for now

by TinyPotato02



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: AU, Angst, Chimera Edward Elric, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, More tags to be added, Other, Parental Roy Mustang
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2019-10-31 22:05:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17857808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinyPotato02/pseuds/TinyPotato02
Summary: Edward Elric, the prodigy and youngest state alchemist is missing. In a time where everyone has lost hope in him, it is up to Roy Mustang and his team to find him.Aka I'm bad at summaries, you should just read it and find out what it's about





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, my first fan fictioN
> 
> Please note I said fan fiction. Why? Because I don’t own FMA! Truly unfortunate, but it’s a truth I must accept.
> 
> I’ll try to update on either Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. Or whenever I have a finished chapter.
> 
>    
> Sorry for the bad format, I’m trying to fix that
> 
>    
> The chapter will get longer (And hopefully better) as the story progresses
> 
> And finally, the warnings, rating, and tags will change as the story goes.

A month and a half. A month and a half was how long the Fullmetal Alchemist had been missing. A month and a half had passed and people were beginning to think there was no hope. Everyone, that is, except Alphonse Elric and Roy Mustang and his crew. They refused to believe that such a strong-willed, determined boy could be taken down so easily. Colonel Mustang spent days upon days searching for every reasonable piece of information that could be used to find the whereabouts of the young alchemist. He’d somehow managed to convince Al to return to Resembol and let the military handle Edward’s disappearance. Mustang was relieved when the young boy agreed, he couldn’t have lived with himself if both of the boys that he had begun to think of as his own children disappeared…

 Colonel Mustang sat behind his desk, face buried in his hands in exhaustion. His gaze was suddenly drawn to the door as Lieutenant Hawkeye burst in. Her manner seemed panicked as she approached the colonel.  


“Sir,” Hawkeye began, “We’ve found a lead on the location of Edward.”  


At once Mustang stood up suddenly, "Get Havoc, If Fullmetal’s captors have kept him locked up this long, we’ll need backup.”  


“Yes sir.”

In less than a minute the trio were driving towards the place where Edward supposedly was being imprisoned. They drove in a solemn panic, the air was tense as they went. Once they finally arrived, the car came to a screeching halt outside of a house that could only be described as eerie.  


As soon as the car stopped the team jumped out of the car, Mustang in the lead, and walked up to the door.  


Mustang knocked on the door, the fierceness that he put into the few knocks radiated around him. Anger boiling up as he realized how close he was to finding Edward, but the only thing hold him back was human decency. After he knocked, he waited for only a few seconds before trying the doorknob. Locked. Without warning, Mustang kicked down the door out of pure fury. Havoc and Hawkeye followed without question as he led them inside.  


As soon as they entered a strong, musty odor engulfed them. The building was obviously ancient and falling apart; floor boards had snapped in half and cobwebs were scattered in every corner. There was a long hallway that led to two staircases, one going up and one going down. On the main floor there were two more halls that branched out into more rooms that were probably in the same state as the hall.  


“Havoc, you search the second floor; Hawkeye, you search this floor; and I’ll search the basement.” Mustang commanded. They both nodded and with a swift ‘yes sir,’ the group dispersed.  


As Mustang treaded carefully to the breaking stairs he positioned his fingers to snap. He narrowed his eyes and walked down the stairs that creaked with each step. Once he made it to the bottom of the staircase a bitter breeze blew across his skin.  


Glancing around for some explanation, Mustang noticed a cellar door that had been haphazardly thrown open in a desperate escape. Then he noticed signs of transmutation on the wall beside him, as well as smeared chalk markings on the dirt ground. With a grimace Mustang leaned down to observe the markings. There was no doubt in Colonel Mustang’s mind, Edward was here.  


“Hawkeye!” Mustang shouted, “Get down here!”  


Without waiting for a response, Mustang snapped his fingers. The wall exploded instantly, revealing a long, dark tunnel. Almost seconds after he did this, Hawkeye and Havoc came running down the stairs, eyes wide.  


“Fullmetal is down here,” Mustang said, walking through the hole he made. Hawkeye and Havoc exchanged a look, but said nothing as the trailed after the colonel.  


They trekked down the tunnel for what seemed like hours before finally seeing a dim light. Mustang began to speed up, his subordinates following suit. Soon they found themselves in a dimly lit portion of the tunnel, cages lined the walls. Each cage held a some sort of hostile, grotesque creature within it’s bars. Then they reached the largest cage, it was so big compared to the others it could almost be considered a cell.  


Inside the cage sat a creature, back turned. It’s lion-like tail wrapped around itself protectively. It had wings held limply on its shoulder. Dull blond hair ran down it’s back and trailed off between the wings. It’s limbs were covered in peach colored fur and then... then Mustang noticed something odd. It’s right arm and left leg were... automail.  


Mustang’s heart dropped and he opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. The creature shifted and turned it’s head slowly. His golden eyes widened as he looked at the people on the other side of the bars. And then, he uttered one word:  


“Mustang?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo I drew my version of Chimera Ed...
> 
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> and here it iS
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> You can't see the wings in this one, but perchance I'll draw another with the wings
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> 
> Also I can't draw automail ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ


	2. Chapter 2

“Mustang?” The small voice cracked as it spoke.

“Fullmetal,” Mustang breathed. His eyes darting across the young, dirty boy. Suddenly he realized they were faced with a new problem; how were they supposed to get Edward out of the cage? There was no door, so Mustang assumed Fullmetal’s captors just used alchemy to get him in and out of the cage.

The kid was struggling just to keep himself up, they had to get him out soon. Mustang didn’t want to risk hurting Ed by using fire and he had never been good at any other type of alchemy, but even so Mustang had nothing to draw a transmutation circle with. The colonel brushed his hands against the bars and realized how weak the structure was. Obviously the kidnappers knew whatever they did to Edward would weaken him severely.

“Fullmetal, can you move away from the bars?” His voice was lacking in his usual sternness.

Edward did his best to shuffle away from the bars. Then he looked up at Mustang expectantly. Mustang felt his heart shatter as the wide, scared eyes met his own.

Once he was sure the boy was a good enough distance away, Mustang took a second to try and find the best approach. He could kick or punch the bars, but there was no way that would make a big enough hole. He decided the quickest and most efficient option was to just slam his entire body against the bars, and that’s what he did.

As soon as his side hit the bars that shattered into loose dirt and he found himself falling forward. Barely managing to catch himself, Mustang stood up slowly. His eyes drifted down to the young boy stared up at him.

“Hey Edward,” He whispered, “Can you stand?”

Ed shook his head, “No.” He motioned to his automail leg.

“Okay, can I pick you up?” Mustang watched as the child nodded slowly. Concern flashed through Mustang’s features; the Fullmetal Alchemist he knew would yell at him for even suggesting such an idea...

He shook his head and approached the younger alchemist carefully, leaning down he rested his hand on Ed’s shoulder. Almost immediately the boy flinched, Mustang noticed faint tears bubbling up in Edward’s eyes.

“It’s okay, you’re safe, it’s Mustang remember?” The colonel smiled.

Edward peered up at him once more, “I’m sorry,” He choked out.

Mustang’s heart shattered again, “It’s not your fault,” He murmured as he scooped the boy up in his arms and was surprised at how light Ed was despite the automail. The small child latched onto the colonel’s uniform, his grip tightening with every step as Mustang carried him out of the cell.

Both Hawkeye and Havoc shared a look a concern and confusion. Concern for Edward and confusion for the usually stern man that was now cradling the weak boy in his arms. Mustang noticed, but decided to ignore their expressions.  
Silenced followed as they walked back down the long tunnel, up the stairs, and into the car that sat outside. All the while Colonel Mustang carried Edward.

Hawkeye hesitated before looking back at the colonel, “Should we go to the hospital?”

Edward visibly tensed up so Mustang shook his head, “I don’t think Edward is okay with that and if we brought him to the hospital like this? That’s not an option. He’d be taken away and tested. For now I can take care of him, just take me to my apartment and I’ll be fine from there.”

“Are you sure you can handle a kid?” Havoc spoke up, “Especially after such a traumatizing event? Even for a few days or weeks he’ll be a handful.”

Mustang glared at Havoc, “I’ll be fine.”

Havoc shrugged and looked at Hawkeye for backup.

Hawkeye shook her head knowing full well that once the colonel had his mind set on something there was no changing it. Without another word they began the drive to Mustang’s apartment and he was dropped off there. As he made his way to the door he realized that somehow, during the car ride, Edward had fallen asleep

As carefully as possible, Mustang reached for the door and tried to unlock it. Unlocking the door proved to be a challenge as he tried not to shift Edward around to much. Eventually he did manage to slip the key in the lock and turn it. Then he turned the handle, moved his hand back to support Ed, and kicked the door open the rest of the way. 

As soon as he closed the door and locked it, Mustang walked to the couch and laid Ed down before sitting down at his feet. Without meaning to, Mustang dozed off, only to awoken a few minutes later by a sharp kick to his side.  
Directing his gaze towards Ed, he realized the child was still asleep, but he was thrashing around.

Mustang was at a loss for what to do, so he stood up, made his way to Fullmetal, and rested his hand on Ed’s shoulder. He expected a flinch of some sort, but when the boy launched his fist at Mustang’s face he was sent reeling. Mustang blinked and looked up at Edward, who’s eyes were wide with fear as he trembled. Then Mustang brought his hand up to his face and wiped his nose. When he pulled his hand away he looked at the bright red blood that was smeared across it. Suddenly he heard whimpers from the couch and looked up to see tears rolling down Edward’s face.

“I’m sorry,” Edward cried.

“No, no, no, it’s not your fault! It was mine, I should have known—“ Mustang was promptly cut off.

Edward rubbed his eyes as he spoke, “Why are you being so nice to me? You haven’t insulted or picked on me at all...”

Mustang faltered, before regaining his composure and smiling at the boy, “Are you saying you want me to pick on you? Because I must say, even for the short,” —Edward glared at him for his choice of words— “amount of time since we found you it’s been a struggle not making a comment on your height.”

Anger crossed Edward’s face and he turned away and pouted like a child, “That wasn’t even an insult.”

“And yet you reacted anyway,” Mustang smirked.

Edward opened his mouth to retort, but stopped midway as a pained expression appeared. With his not-quite human arm he reached up and wrapped his hand around his automail arm. Mustang’s smile fell and he slowly approached the boy.

“What’s wrong?” He inquired.

Ed slammed his fist down on his leg, “My stupid automail! It’s all broken and so full of dirt that it’s starting to hurt.”

The thought of a possible infection came across Mustang’s mind, but pushed the thought away, “Well then, we should probably get them cleaned up.”

Edward rolled his eyes, “Don’t baby me, I can handle myself.”

Mustang nodded thoughtfully, “My apologies. If you’re so sure you can take care of yourself then be my guest. The bathroom is upstairs, first door on the right.”

Edward began to stand up before wobbling and collapsing on the couch. His eyes narrowed in frustration and he tried again, only for the same thing to happen. Then a made a motion similar to crossing his arms, but with only on arm, and pouted once more.

“What’s wrong Fullmetal? I thought you could handle yourself?” The colonel said with a smug grin.

“I can’t stand,” Edward grumbled.

“Is that so? Well, I know you don’t want me babying you, so I’ll let you take care of yourself.”

“Fine! Okay! I need your help,” Edward snapped, “will you just hurry up and do something?” 

Mustang’s smile only brightened, this was the Edward Elric he knew; spiteful, angry, and annoyed. Focusing his attention on the boy he spoke, “You’ll have to let me carry you though.”

“What!? No way!” He shook his head defiantly.

Mustang sighed, “I guess we’ll just have to let it get infected then. Honestly, you’ve been kidnapped and tortured, but the thing that will kill you is your automail getting infected because you refused to let me carry you.”

Edward’s groan was cut off by a quiet sound of pain and he gripped his arm again, “Fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do kind of love the end of this chapter just because I feel like it’s pretty accurate to how Mustang and Ed interact


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have mixed feeling about this chapter...
> 
> But then again, I have mixed feelings about all the chapters ;-;

“I hope you realize how much I hate this,” Edward grumbled as Mustang picked him up and carried him.

“I can drop you, you know that right?”

“I dare you to,” Edward’s golden eyes glared up at Mustang, they where filled with a familiar defiance.

Mustang chuckled, “You haven’t changed at all.”

Ed fell silent. He brought us furry hand up and stared at it, all defiance drained from his eyes and he looked... sad. “But I have changed,” He said softly

“Physically, yes,” Mustang consoled, “but your still the same Edward we all know and love. Nothing can change that.”

“But what if everyone thinks I’m a monster?” He paused, “I haven’t even seen what I look like, but I feel like a monster.”

“Trust me, if the people you consider friends think of you as a monster, then they’re not your friends.”

Edward nodded quietly.

Once Mustang reached the bathroom he set Edward down on the toilet lid and began filling up the tub. As soon as he was satisfied with the temperature and fullness of the tub, Mustang backed away and began towards that door.

“If you need anything, just call,” He said. Just as he was about to close the door Edward stopped him.

“Wait, um,” Edward hesitated, “I don’t think I’ll be able to properly clean my automail with only one working arm...”

“You want my help?” Mustang inquired, “I’d be willing to as long as your comfortable with that.”

“I’m not,” Edward muttered, “but I don’t really have a choice. Turn around.”

Mustang obeyed and listened as the boy struggled around with his single working arm and leg before basically falling into the tub. He heard a pretty decent amount of water splash onto the ground, but said nothing.

“Can I turn around?” Mustang asked.

“Sure, whatever,” Edward responded.

When he turned around Edward pulled his knees up to his chin and wrapped his tail around his legs. The colonel approached, but not before grabbing two towels, one for the floor that was now drenched, and one for Ed.

He wiped up the floor and then took a look at the boy. Dirt was already drifting away and tinting the water light brown.  
Pursing his lips, Mustang decided to start with the hair. He’d deal with the wings once he got there. Reaching around Ed, Mustang grabbed the bottle of shampoo that rested on a shelf and squirted some on his hands. As he lathered it up he noticed Edward shuffle slightly. Gently, Mustang ran his hands through Ed’s hair. He felt the him tense up as he lightly brushed his fingers through the short, blond hair that trailed down his back between his wings before moving up to his longer hair. By the time Mustang had finished his hair, he noticed Edward’s eyes were closed and he had a faint, content smile on his face.

He paused before poking Ed, “Do you want to start working on your leg while I do your arm?”

Edward nodded and waited as Mustang handed him a wet sponge with soap on it.

While Fullmetal rubbed the sponge on his leg, Mustang retrieved a second sponge and covered it in soap. Just running the sponge over Ed’s automail arm caused small pieces of dirt that were caught in the cracks to drip out. A single swipe would take an entire layer of dirt off the arm and make it shine. 

After a few minutes Mustang was content with how the arm looked so he leaned back, “This is good enough for now. Anything else can be cleaned out whenever I call Winry to fix your arm.”

Edward stopped dead, “What? When are you going to call Winry? I don’t want her to see me like this!”

“Don’t be an idiot Fullmetal, you need your automail repaired as soon as possible,” Mustang retorted.

“But I’m hideous! I’ve got fur! I’ve got a tail and wings!”

“That doesn’t matter to her Edward,” Mustang said sternly, “Like I said earlier if she really is your friend she won’t think of you as a monster. We can talk about this later,but for now would you be okay if I stretched out your wings?”

Edward snapped his gaze up at Mustang, “Don’t.”

Mustang grimaced, he was glad Edward was behaving as normal, but his usual stubbornness was getting on his nerves. “I’m trying to give you the option to willingly do this, but if you refuse I’ll have to use force.”

Ed’s eyes widened and he looked away, “Whatever.”

Carefully, the colonel touched his wings, he ran his hands down the grimy, damp feathers and stretched out the left wing. The single wing was larger than he expected, but Mustang did his best to splash water over the dull yellow feather and repeated the process on the other wing. When Edward pulled the wings back Mustang noticed the faint terror in his eyes.  
He opened his mouth to comfort the boy, but was at a loss for words. So instead he said, “I think you can handle it from here, just tell me if you need anything.”

Edward nodded, refusing to make eye contact.

Mustang walked away and shut the door behind him. He let out a sigh and turned to his room to find some clothes for the boy. He decided on a dark grey tank top and some shorts he had laying around, he hesitated before finding and grabbing a pair of scissors and placing it on the neatly folded clothes. Then he went to check on Ed. He knocked on the door, “I have some clothes for you, I’ll leave them outside.”

He heard a grunt in response and walked down the stairs in into the kitchen to make something for the child to eat. He decided on soup, which he luckily had, and began warming it up on the stove.

Mustang stirred the soup quietly waiting for Fullmetal to call for him to help. After a few minutes, Mustang heard a muffled sound from the stairs and a cough. Directing his gaze to the stairs he realized Edward was gripping the wall and slowly making his way down the last stair.

Mustang’s eyes widened and he ran over to Edward and grabbed onto his arms to steady him. “Why didn’t you call for me? You could’ve fallen and gotten hurt!”

Edward stared up at Mustang curiously, “Are you worried about me?”

“Yes, of course I am,” Mustang assured him.

Edward turned red and looked away his eyes darting around to focus on anything else. Suddenly, Mustang realized how big the clothes were on the small boy, the shirt’s sleeve were slipping off Edward’s shoulder and the young alchemist had been forced to fold the extra pants fabric and tuck it in the waist. The large clothes made the embarrassed kid look smaller than ever.

“Sorry I couldn’t get you any smaller clothes,” Mustang apologized.

“It’s fine. Besides can just transmute it to fit me whenever I feel up to using alchemy,” Edward pointed out.

“Do you think you could make it to the couch by yourself?”

“I’ll be fine.”

Mustang released the boy and backed towards the kitchen while watching Ed use the wall to steady himself as he started towards that couch. Once Edward collapsed with a sigh, the colonel walked to the stove and began stirring the soup again.

As soon as the soup was warm, Mustang poured two bowls, one significantly smaller than the other, and meandered over to the couch. He handed the smaller bowl to Edward and sat down beside him. Edward carefully brought a tiny spoonful to his mouth.

While they ate, Mustang began to speak, “I’m going to call Winry after this, would you like to talk to her?”

Ed crossed his arms and grumbled, “I’d rather not.”

“That’s too bad,” Mustang retorted, “Because I know for a fact Winry and Alphonse are going to do everything in their power to talk to you.”

Edward murmured something that sounded similar to ‘Alphonse,’ but fell quiet.

Neither of them said a word after that, so they finished their meal in absolute silence.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who are keeping up with this fan fiction, I’m sorrY this chapter is really latE. I was really struggling with it...
> 
> EDIT: Chapter 5 is probably going to be little late as well. School is a struggle and my motivation for the chapter is running low, sorry!

Winry jumped when the phone started ringing. Quickly she ran over to the phone and answered it.

“Hello, Rockbell Automail—“ She was cut off by a vaguely familiar voice.

“Miss Rockbell? It’s Colonel Mustang,” He paused, “We found Fullmetal.”

Winry nearly dropped the phone, “Edward? Is he alright? Can I talk to him?” 

“He’s... relatively fine...”

“Can I talk to him?” Winry repeated.

“I’ll give the phone to him.”

Winry heard shuffling from the opposite line and listened as it fell silent.

“Winry,” Edward began.

Winry nearly sobbed, “Edward! We’ve been so worried!”

“Are you okay?” Ed murmured, at a loss for anything else to say.

“Are you kidding? Am I okay? Ed! You were kidnapped! Are you okay?” Winry cried out.

Edward faltered, before diving right into his problem, “My automail isn’t working right, it refuses to move and the deadweight is making it painful. Do you think you could make a trip to Central?”  


“Of course! I’ll be there as soon as possible. I’m sure Al would be ecstatic to come.”  


“Actually, can I talk to Al?” Edward mumbled.  


Winry nodded, even though he couldn’t see her, “Okay, I’ll go get him.”  


Edward listened as she pulled the phone away and called for Al. After a few moments he heard Al’s thundering footsteps enter the room and Winry say something before handing him the phone.  


“Brother?” Alphonse whispered.  


Ed beamed as tears welled up in his eyes, just hearing his little brother’s metallic voice made his heart swell.  


“Hi Al,” Edward responded.  
If Al could cry, there was no doubt he would be sobbing.  


“Oh, Brother! I was so scared! Don’t ever do something like that again!” Al scolded.  


Ed chuckled, “I don’t plan on it...”  


Mustang watched as Edward laughed and talked to his brother. It was like nothing had happened, maybe the scared, weak Fullmetal had been a temporary phase...  


It was only later when Mustang realized how wrong he was.

After Ed hung up, Mustang showed him to the guest room and told the boy to get some rest. Edward quickly obliged and once Mustang left he fell asleep in less then a minute.  
Unfortunately the rest of the night was not so peaceful.  


Mustang was awoken by a scream from the guest bedroom. Blearily, he grabbed his ignition glove and put it on while he ran to the room. The fear of an attacker trying to hurt Ed caused the colonel to fling himself through the guest door and stare at the boy.  


Edward was writhing in the the bed, pain painted across his face as he made a strangled noise. Mustang was in shock, but quickly ran to Ed’s side. Suddenly the golden eyes burst open and bore into Mustang, they were clouded and filled with agony.  


Mustang reached out to comfort the boy, only for Edward to snarl—actually snarl—and back away from him. As the boy sat up, Mustang realized how fiercely the boy’s tail was lashing around and his wings rose in a threatening manner.  


“Calm down Fullmetal, I don’t want to hurt you,” Mustang murmured in an attempt to placate the boy.  


Edward only backed away further, baring he teeth. Mustang listened as the young alchemists breathing quickened.  


“Edward,” Mustang’s tried again, “You need to breathe.”  


Edward shook his head and pulled his working arm to his head. “Stop,” He gasped, “Please stop. Why are you helping me?”  


“Because you need my help,” Mustang responded.  


Ed only shook his head once more as though he simply couldn’t understand Mustang’s words. Then tears starting rolling down his cheek and catching on his fur. He pulled his legs towards himself and buried his face in his knees. Edward drew his wings and tail to his body and sat there trembling.  


After deciding it was safe to approach, Mustang sat down beside him and placed his hand on Ed’s hair and ruffled it.  
Edward lifted his head and looked up at the colonel, “Mustang?”  


Mustang quickly shushed him, “You don’t have to call me Mustang, as far as the military’s concerned you’re still missing, so just call me Roy.”  


Edward hesitated, “Really?”  


Mustang—Roy—nodded, “Of course.”  
Wiping his eyes, Edward whispered, “Okay.”  
The colonel removed his hand from Ed’s head before he was stopped. Edward had grabbed his hand and Roy noticed a faint flush in his cheeks.  


“Do you—uh—do you think you could... braid my hair?” He asked, face turning completely red as he blurted out an explanation, “‘Cuz it feels weird down, and, and I can’t really do it myself...”  


Mustang chuckled, “If you want me too, I can. Although, I’m not sure how neat it will be.”  


Edward maneuvered onto the ground to make the task of braiding his hair easier. Roy did everything he could to stop himself from helping the boy. Ed would be angry if I helped, Mustang reasoned, he’d feel useless.  


As soon as Edward has settled on the ground Roy felt a smirk crawl onto his face, “Well, Ed, I wasn’t going to say anything, but I really don’t think I’ll be able to braid your hair.”  


“Why?” Edward questioned.  


“I can’t reach your hair.”  


“I hate you,” Ed spat.  


“The feeling is mutual,” Mustang retorted. Before Ed could deny the colonel’s help, he scooped up the younger alchemist’s hair and separated it into three strands.  


While he braided it, Edward began talking, “I’m surprised you even know how to braid.”  


Roy let out a quiet laugh, “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”  


Edward waved in dismissal, “Nah, you’re pretty shallow. I think I’ve got you figured out.”  


“And you’re an angsty midget! Look at us bonding!” Mustang exclaimed with a smile.  
Edward grumbled under his breath. He said something about what a terrible person Mustang was and if he ever became Fürher, Ed would move to Xing.  


Neither of them made a snide comment after that and Mustang finished his braid in silence.  


Once he finished, Roy faltered, “It occurred to me that I don’t have a hair band.”  


Edward groaned, “Well go get one! Geez, you’d think you would’ve realized that.”  


Mustang crossed his arms, “I’m suddenly reminded of what a brat you are.”  


“You hurt me,” Ed said, placing his hand on his heart.  


“Just hold the braid until I get back,” Roy ordered.  


“Sir, yes, sir,” Ed said, grabbing the braid as Mustang stood up and left the room.  


Only minutes later, Roy returned with a rubber band, “I found this.”  


“Took you long enough,” Edward grimaced.  


The colonel, making no effort to be gentle, took the braid up in his hands and used the rubber band to secure it.  


“Ow! You could be gentler you know,” Fullmetal whined.  


“Your attitude isn’t making me want to.”  


Huffing, Edward yanked his hair out of Mustang’s hands and tensed as the braid hit his back. After a few seconds, Ed blinked and let himself relax.  


”Thanks,” He mumbled under his breath.  


Mustang raised his eyebrows, “Hmm? I didn’t quite catch that, could you repeat yourself?”  


“Thanks,” Ed repeated, slightly louder.  


With smirk growing on his face, Mustang said, “I’m sorry, one more time?”  


“You know I said thanks,” Edward spat, “You’re so obnoxious.”  


Roy beamed and patted Fullmetal’s shoulder, “I try.”  


Sighing, Edward collapsed on the bed and murmured, “I don’t think I’m gonna be able to get back to sleep.”  


“If you let me help you downstairs we could talk.”  


Ed rolled his eyes, “Talking to you all night is as bad, if not worse, than laying in bed and staring at the ceiling. But, laying in bed is uncomfortable with wings and a tail. So I guess I’ll come.”  


Mustang offered his hand and Ed grabbed it. Once Roy situated Edward’s furry arm around his neck the two staggered out of the door and down the stairs. As soon as they reached the couch, Mustang leaned down and let Ed slide out of his grip.  


While Edward got comfortable Mustang asked the question that had been in the back of his mind since he found him:  


“Will you tell me what they did to you?”  


The response he got surprised him.  


“Okay, I’ll try.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my best chapter :/

“At first they didn’t do anything,” Ed began, “They stuck me in a room and left me there for a couple of days. It was too dark to see any details of the room, but by the time they came back to get me I was too weak and tired to fight back.”

Edward paused nervously, but Mustang gave him an encouraging nod.

^ ^ ^ 

A warm beam of light poured into the dark room and striking the young alchemist chained to the wall. Two men stood in the doorway. As the smaller of the two approached, the boy lifted his head and watched him with his dull, golden eyes.

“Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist,” The man grinned, “Not so high and mighty now, are you?”

Ed struggled against the chains, “What do you want from me?” He growled, forcing the growing fear from his voice.

“Now now, we don’t want to spoil the surprise, do we?” The man tutted, he then lifted his gloved hand and motioned for the other man.

“Who are you? Why did you kidnap me? Am I the only one you’ve kidnapped?” Edward said, trying to spit out as many questions as possible with the hope that one might be answered.

“I suppose you do need something to call us...” The first began, “But we certainly can’t tell you our real names. So you will call me Johnson and him Mark.”

“Are those really the best names you could come up with?” Edward taunted.

Johnson laughed, “You’re amusing! It really is a shame that you’re our subject.” 

Before Ed could come up with a smart response, Mark approached, unlocked the shackles, and flung Edward over his shoulder before he could do anything.

“Let me go!” Edward yelped, panic sinking in as he was carried out of the room.

The man called Johnson walked out of the door and Mark trailed behind him. They walked down a dim tunnel until they reached a cell, as Johnson came to a stop so did Mark. Edward noticed the glove Johnson wore had a transmutation circle sewn into it. He lifted his hand and and the bars of the cells drew into the ceiling, Mark threw Ed in, and the bars dropped.

^ ^ ^ 

“They left me in the cell for another day, but when they returned I was immediately knocked out,” Ed recalled, “When I finally did wake up I felt awful, I didn’t feel like myself. I didn’t really understand what was happening until, after a couple more times of that happening, I noticed patchy fur appearing on my body.”

Mustang listened intently, hoping the kid wouldn’t withdraw, praying that he could finish his tale.

“I was knocked for most of the transmutations with the exception of getting my wings and tail...”

^ ^ ^ 

Edward hung limply on Mark’s shoulder, too exhausted to protest as he was taken to yet another room. Although, this one was much different then the other places he was kept.  
A large transmutation circle took up the entire stone floor. Johnson stood on the opposite side as Ed and Mark, a rather large bird was perched on a leather glove he wore.

Noticing Edward, Johnson spoke, “Birds are magnificent creatures, aren’t they? Perfectly built to lift their aerodynamic bodies into the air. Able to catch the wind in their feathers and soar. Truly magnificent...”

“Get the the point,” Ed grunted.  
“I think you know exactly where I’m going with this.”

“Maybe I do, why are you keeping me awake for this? Aren’t you torturing me enough?” Edward retorted.

“Honestly Ed, I would have thought you of all people would know why. When your nerves are connected to your automail you have to be awake, correct? Well, for best results when adding a feature, such as wings, to a human chimera you have to do the same thing. We don’t want you to have useless wings! That would just be a nuisance.”

“Don’t call me Ed.”

Johnson ignored him and motioned for Mark to put the younger alchemist in the circle. Mark did so and backed away. While he backed away, Johnson took the bird from his hand and placed it in a cage in the circle.

“Let’s hope nothing goes wrong!” Johnson laughed as he slammed his hands down on the edge of the circle.

At first nothing happened, then the electric glow of alchemy lit up the room and Ed was in searing pain. Releasing a scream, Edward collapsed to the ground shaking. He panted before another flash of agony swept through his body. Ed’s fingers pulled at his loose braid trying to focus on anything but the collection of energy around his shoulder blades. He cried out again as he felt the wings forming on his back, the connected flesh ripped off of Ed’s back and the wings fell limply to the ground as feather began growing.

The pain was unbearable, but Edward refused to give up. He shot Johnson a confident, spiteful glare and then passed out.

^ ^ ^ 

Roy was angry. Angry that these two strange men thought they could just pluck his subordinate of the street and do unthinkable experiments on him. While he was distracted by his thoughts, Mustang failed to noticed Fullmetal stop speaking and curl up on himself. Ed then started crying softly, he was shaking ever so slightly, but it was enough for Roy to notice.

Edward was hiding in his shell and Mustang’s didn’t know how to draw him back out.

”Edward,” Roy murmured, reaching out and resting his hand on the boy’s shoulder.  
He flinched. Ed’s tear filled eyes met Roy’s sympathetic gaze. Edward shifted his shoulder and Mustang’s hand slid off.

With a frown, Mustang leaned back, “Do you think you could finish?”

Ed shook his head.

The colonel nodded in understanding, “Alright, that’s fine.”

After a few minutes, Roy stood up carefully and glanced back to Ed, “Do you want anything to eat or drink?”

Edward shook his head and watched as Roy stood up and walked away.

A few minutes later, the colonel returned holding a steaming cup.

Ed’s nose wrinkled, “What is that? Coffee? I bet it’s black like your soul.”

“It’s tea,” Roy corrected.

Ed raised his eyebrows, “I never took you for a tea person.”

“Really Ed, you would think you would learn to stop judging so quickly,” Mustang chided.  
Edward narrowed his eyes.

Roy took a sip of tea and spoke up, “Alphonse and Winry are probably going to get to Central in couple of days, are you looking forward to seeing them?”

“I guess,” the younger alchemist murmured, “I’m a little nervous...”

“Why’s that?”

“I don’t know,” Edward admitted, “I want to believe that they’ll still think of me as human, but everything is telling me they won’t. What if they don’t? What if Al doesn’t?”

“If anyone will understand that feeling, it’s Al,” The colonel reasoned.

Frowning, Ed replied, “That’s my fault.”

Roy nearly groaned, “If you keep telling yourself that, you’ll never realize it’s not true.”

“But it is!” He insisted.

“Fullmetal, you’re wrong,” Roy snapped, “You’re only stressing yourself out, drop the subject.”

Edward opened his mouth to protest, but quickly shut it, “Fine.”

“You have nothing to worry about Ed,” Mustang continued, “You can only truly know what they think when they get here.”

“I hate you and your stupid logic that you rarely use.”

“I’m both mildly offended and mildly flattered,” Mustang mused.

“Really? Then how about I revise that statement by simply saying ‘I hate you’?” Ed grinned.

“Well now I’m just mildly offended,” Roy said.

Before Edward could responded, he yawned and closed his for a moment.

Mustang smiled fondly, “Would you like me to move you back upstairs?”

Ed shook his head, “No, ’m fine”

Taking another sip of tea, Roy leaned back and watched as the young boy dozed off on the couch. Carefully, he stood up and retrieved a blanket to lay over Edward.

“Night,” He whispered.


	6. Update will come soon I sweaR

Okay, okay, it's been like 3 weeks since the last update, but I'm really struggling with ideas for the next chapter. I have a small portion written so I doubt I'll get it out by this Thursday.

School has also been rather difficult and trying to find time to write is becoming hard. I'm trying my best and I refuse to abandon this fanfiction.

Thank you all so much, the next chapter will be out soon!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AhhHHhahah I’ve had this finished for almost a month but never really posted it?
> 
> The entire first half of this chapter is nothing but filler?? 
> 
> When will the next chapter come out? I dunno?
> 
> I’m about to post a One Piece fanfic and I’m actually actively in the One Piece fandom, but I’ve kinda fallen away from FMA again? I still love it, I just don’t know what to do with this story...
> 
> I’ll keep working on it so consider this story abandoned unless I state it is!
> 
> Thanks to anyone still interested!

Mustang awoke with a start, he turned his head to see Ed laying beside him on the couch. Rubbing his head, Roy stood up and made his way to the kitchen.

All exhaustion disappeared when suddenly the phone began ringing.

Mustang launched towards the phone, hoping that it didn’t disturb Ed.

“Hello?”

“Colonel?” Alphonse’s gentle voice came from the other side.

“Hi Alphonse,” Roy smiled.

“How’s Ed?”

“He’s doing fine.”

Alphonse exhaled in relief, “Good. Winry and I should be in Central later this evening. I hope he’s not troubling you.”

“Not anymore than usual,” Roy chuckled, “I’m sure Edward is excited to see you, I’ll tell him you’ll be here soon.”

“Okay,” Al replied, “Bye Colonel!”

“Bye Alphonse.”

Hanging up, Mustang turned around to see Edward propped up on the couch and looking at him drowsily.

”Who was that?”

”Alphonse,” Roy responded, “He told me he and Winry would be here later today.”

His golden eyes widened, “Today? I thought they’d be here tomorrow or something.”

“They told you they’d be here as soon as possible,” Roy pointed out, “Knowing them, they’ll do just that.”

“I guess,” Ed murmured.

“Do you want anything to eat?” Mustang asked.

Edward raised his head, and dodging the question, asked, “Don’t you have to work?”

Roy opened his mouth, but quickly shut it, “I forgot.”

“Lieutenant Hawkeye is gonna kill you.”

The colonel shook his head, “No, she’ll just have to accept me being late.”

“Easier said than done,” Ed leaned back, trying to hide his amusement.

“I need to go,” Roy grumbled, walking upstairs to get dressed.

Edward closed his eyes and listened as Mustang’s hurried footsteps walked back down the stairs.

“I’m leaving,” Roy announced, “Call if you need anything.”

“‘Kay.”

With that, Mustang was out the door and Ed was left in silence.

He swung his leg back and forth, only to become bored at once. He yawned and stretched his wings. Suddenly, Edward’s eyes widened as he began thinking about if he could fly.

Excited, Ed decided to test his theory. He carefully stood up and leaned against the wall as he hobbled to the stairs and climbed halfway.

As he stared, he thought, this is stupid, there’s no way I could fly. But, instead of backing down he spread his wings and jumped awkwardly. Only to immediately regret it, close his wings, and land roughly on his bottom on the last step.

Edward groaned and fell back on the rest of the steps, which only caused more pain.

Standing up, Ed wobbled to the couch and collapsed. Though he had only just woken up he began drifting back to sleep.

-

A few hours passed and Edward woke up with a start. He turned his head to the door and listened as it was unlocked. The door opened and Mustang walked in.

Roy sighed, “Hey Ed.”

Ed grunted.

Mustang opened his mouth to speak, but was swiftly cut off by a knock to the door.

Roy turned around and opened the door slightly. His eyes widened as he looked outside.

“One second,” He said quickly and closed the door once more. Turning to Edward he whispered, “They’re here.”

Ed’s heart dropped at that simple phrase, his breath quickened and Mustang was at his side in an instant.

“It’s okay,” Roy murmured, “Just calm down, I’m going to let them in.”

Ed exhaled and nodded.

The colonel smiled comfortingly and made his way to the door.

A cool breeze swept into the room as the door opened and Mustang motioned to let Winry and Alphonse in.

At once Alphonse ignored all politeness he had and pushed past. His soul fire eyes searching desperately for his brother until they landed on the elder child. Even for armor that couldn’t show emotions, Al looked distraught. Roy noticed Winry raise her hand to her mouth in shock.

When no one spoke, Edward cleared his throat, “Hey Al.”

Alphonse made a noise similar to a choked sob and rushed forward to embrace his brother. As soon as Alphonse hugged him, Edward leaned into the cold metal armor and tears welled up in his eyes.

Roy felt his heart shatter as Ed sobbed into Al’s armor. He glanced at Winry and noticed her beginning to cry. Edward glanced up at Winry and wiped his eyes.

”Winry,” Edward murmured, “I’m okay, don’t cry...”

Winry’s eyes widened, “Ed...”

Ed carefully stood up, wobbling slightly on his working leg. Alphonse steadied his brother and looked him with concern.   
Winry snapped out of her trance and stepped forward to catch Edward.

Ed straightened and loosely wrapped his hand around Winry’s arm to steady himself. 

His golden eyes met her blue eyes, “I’ve missed you both.”

“Oh, Ed!” She cried, practically throwing herself into a hug. The surprised alchemist gently lay his hand on her back as she   
wrapped her own arms around him.

After a few moments, Edward pulled away and rubbed his neck awkwardly, “Winry, do you think you could get started on fixing   
my automail soon?”

Winry nodded at the timid boy, wiping her eyes quickly, “Of course, I can get started right away.”

Turning to the younger brother, Winry began, “Al, would you mind helping me get Edward upstairs?”

At the same time, the two brothers responded:

“I can handle myself,” Ed assured.

“Actually, I’d like to talk to Mustang for a moment,” Alphonse said.

Winry nodded and allowed Edward to shakily lead the way, while Roy motioned for Alphonse to sit down.

Once Al was sure Ed had disappeared upstairs he turned to the older alchemist.

“What would you like to talk about Alphonse?”

“Colonel, we need to get Edward back to normal,” Al murmured, Helmet facing down slightly.

Mustang was taken aback, “You can’t be serious.”

“And why’s that?” Alphonse challenged.

“You and Ed of all people should understand the fragility of humans...”

The younger Elric retorted, “This isn’t like human transmutation, all we have to do is take away the animal like qualities!”

Roy shook his head, “How? If you have a theory that you know will work, then we can talk. But right now, I know you don’t want to risk hurting or even losing Ed and I certainly won’t assist if it means Fullmetal could get injured.”

Alphonse looked away, “I—I don’t know what to do...”

The colonel watched the boy sympathetically, “I’m sure Edward would like to be a part of this. I know how much he hates what he is now. I’m sure he’d love to try transmuting himself back to normal, but the last thing I want you boys to do is anything reckless.”

“I... suppose you’re right...”

-

Winry held up Ed’s arm and intently watched as she bent the joints. She pulled back and did the same with his leg.

Turning back to Edward, she explained what she would be doing, “I’d like to remove your limbs to fix and clean them... in your state I think it would be best to lighten the automail, at least until you’re stronger.”

Edward nodded, “Whatever you have to do.”

Winry narrowed her eyes at his compliance, “I don’t have any temporary replacements, so you’ll have to survive with just your arm and leg for a bit. Is that okay?”

“Sure.”

The mechanic put her hands on her hips, “I’ll get started right away then.”

Once both she and the smaller boy were prepared, Winry ever-so-carefully disconnected the nerves and removed the limbs.   
After they were both safely set down, she quickly checked the ports and declared her work finished. 

“I’ll go get Alphonse to take you back downstairs,” She smiled, heading towards the door.

Edward returned her smile with a weak grin and, once she was out of sight, he sagged in the chair and closed his eyes, awaiting Winry’s return.

**Author's Note:**

> If you see any grammar or spelling mistakes or anything in general that you think could be fixed, please tell me! I’m always looking for ways to improve upon my writing.
> 
> A l s o
> 
> If you feel like the character don't quite match up with their personalities in the actual series, please tell me and I'll do what I can to fix it :P


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